RAMI 4.

0 and IIRA reference architecture models

A question of perspective and focus

Comprehensive use of digitisation and the Internet as the communication system is

producing changes to products and their infrastructure and operation that transcend the
boundaries of domains. This is also opening up new opportunities in industrial applications
and across the entire value stream within the product and production system lifecycle. To
capitalise on them, data transmission via Industrial Ethernet in combination with the Internet
of Things, Services, People, and Machines makes it necessary to develop smart
applications.

Networked systems are already being built as we speak. Sensors in these systems collect
data on the physical world and then provide this information across all domains, this being
made possible thanks to the system’s network capability. Bilaterally agreed communication
relationships or the use of industry-specific data transfer standards will act to set the
transition from networking to the Internet of Things, Services, People, and Machines in
motion. According to several studies [4], over 25 billion ‘things’ will be connected to the
Internet by 2020 (Figure 1). This
is being done for two reasons:
firstly, to leverage intelligent
networking and the availability of
the relevant information to
establish the optimum value
stream at any given point in time,
and secondly, to generate new
business models. This requires
logical upgrades to components, Figure 1 - According to various forecasts, roughly 26 billion ‘things’ will be
systems, and solutions with the networked in the Internet by 2020.

aim of creating interoperable concepts and radically simplifying the process of engineering
and operating them.

Creating models: a balancing act between providing general descriptions and

describing specific requirements

The description and definition of a reference architecture model serve to break down
functions, services, and processes into more manageable sub-processes. What’s more, they
support the process of implementing the accompanying solutions. The dilemma faced when
creating a model typically lies in the fact that it has to provide a generally accepted
description based on technical rules and standards while also allowing specific requirements
regarding numerous applications and use cases to be described. As such, a model serves as
a highly generalised description within defined target parameters. These target parameters
are derived from the capabilities of the domain to be described, the model’s impact with
respect to implementation, and the system boundaries and interfaces that the model has to
other models.

Several different consortiums have thus been set up around the world for the purpose of
drafting (ostensibly) different reference models from different perspectives and with different
focal points. Two key concepts are the Industrie 4.0 reference architecture model (RAMI 4.0)
by Plattform Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) model
from the Industrial Internet Consortium. Digitisation and the Internet of Thing, Services,
People, and Machines are central components of both models. This raises the question of
what parts of the models are complementary (properties) or congruent (properties), and what
processes and common features need to be developed to ensure maximum possible benefit
for the user. This is not a question of either/or. It is instead a question of the methodical
implementation of the overall structures, which are based on Internet mechanisms and
include end-to-end digitisation, in coordination between the principle bodies and
standardisation organisations. That is critically important from the perspective of the
international target users and products used as well as for global companies. Hostile
attitudes with a political, regional, or strategic background would slow down or create
technical impediments to implementation or generate higher costs.

Combination of lifecycle, value stream, and hierarchical approach

Industrie 4.0 is a specialisation within the

Internet of Things and Services in the
‘Production and Product’ domain,
integrating the engineering of production
tools and products along with the service
in use. A three-dimensional model
describes the Industrie 4.0 space. Layers
are used in the horizontal axis to
represent various perspectives, such as
Figure 2 - The three-dimensional RAMI 4.0 reference architecture
model incorporates the physical world, the lifecycle, and the mapping
data maps, functional descriptions,
of IT-based business models. communication behaviour, hardware
(assets), and business processes. This
corresponds with the IT approach of grouping complex projects into manageable sub-units.
Other key criteria are the lifecycle (type) and service life (instance) of products and
production systems with the value streams it contains. This is represented along the second
axis. Dependencies, e.g., comprehensive data collection across all value streams, can be
clearly represented within the RAMI 4.0 model. The third key aspect, represented in a further
axis, is the allocation of functions and responsibilities within factories/plants. This represents
a functional hierarchy, and not the device classes or hierarchical levels of the classic
automation pyramid. The RAMI 4.0 reference architecture model expands the hierarchy
levels of IEC 62264 by adding the ‘Product’ or work-piece level at the bottom, and the
‘Connected World’ going beyond the boundaries of the individual factory at the top (Figure 2).

The special characteristics of RAMI 4.0 are therefore its combination of lifecycle and value
stream with a hierarchically structured approach for the definition of Industrie 4.0 (I4.0)
components. The concept allows for the logical grouping of functions and the mapping of
interfaces and standards. This provides the conditions necessary to describe and implement
highly flexible solutions using the reference architecture model. In this context, investment
security is interpreted to mean using existing international standards, where possible, or
harmonising compatible standards or agreeing on alternative ones. Standards where they do
not exist, as well as the processes to draft them, must be defined by international bodies as a
means of ensuring there are no obstacles standing in the way of their speedy implementation
and safe adoption. Along with the communication relationship, the semantics and syntax
upon which data exchange is based serve as the basis of communication between the
various parties involved. Not every domain shares the same language. However, if
standardised rules are used, it is possible to transpose (or translate) any differences that
may exist between the languages – as in human language – and hence restore
communication.

Consideration for the perspectives of different

stakeholder groups

The U.S.-based Industrial Internet Consortium

developed the Industrial Internet Reference
Architecture (IIRA) model based on the
ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011 standard. This
international standard outlines the requirements
Figure 3 - The Industrial Internet Reference Architecture
regarding a system, software, and enterprise (IIRA) model is based around four viewpoints.
level architecture. Where practical and feasible,
the ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 standard recommends identifying the perspectives of the various
different stakeholders. Stakeholders in this context include system users, operators, owners,
vendors, developers, and the technicians who maintain and service the systems. The aim is
to describe system properties as seen from their viewpoint. Such properties include the
intended use and suitability of the concept in terms of its implementation, the implementation
process itself, potential risks, and the maintainability of the system over the entire lifecycle
(Figure 3).

IIRA is a layer model that takes into consideration four different viewpoints (business, usage,
functional, and implementation). It focuses on the capabilities from the perspective of the
software and their business processes. Each of the four viewpoints outlined in IIRA can be
compared with the respective layers on the vertical axis of RAMI 4.0; RAMI 4.0 supplements
the model with the axes ‘Lifecycle’ (with types and instances) and ‘Hierarchical Levels.’
Furthermore, the relationship to the world of things is elementary. This is specified as an
Industrie 4.0 component in the reference architecture model and includes, as indicated
above, a description of communication in syntax and semantics in an administration shell
(Figure 4).

Figure 4 - The viewpoints of the IIRA can be represented in the corresponding layers in the RAMI 4.0 model.

Data model and engineering language as a digital ‘link’ between domains

With RAMI 4.0 and the Industrie 4.0 component, Plattform Industrie 4.0 has defined an
architecture that makes production, products and services, and their usage and complexity
manageable from an industrial perspective. The architecture also aims to reduce the variety
of interfaces in practice in the Internet of Things, Services, People, and Machines as well as
to standardise the engineering language. The administration shell of the Industrie 4.0
component thus forms the link between the shop and office floor and to other models and
viewpoints. The stakeholders from the different consortiums now have to work together to
identify the models (IIRA, RAMI 4.0) and promote the implementation in products, systems,
data, and services. The aim is to generate one or more harmonised reference models that
create the investment security for implementation of properties (with harmonised meaning
key aspects are identical). This is driven by the fact that interoperability is necessary to
deliver Industrie 4.0 solutions that offer identifiable benefits to users.

References:

[1] Plattform Industrie 4.0 (pub.): Industrie 4.0 Implementation Strategy; V1.0; last
updated: April 2015

[2] VDI – Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V., VDI/VDE Society Measurement and
Automatic Control (GMA, ZVEI – German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’
Association Automation Division (pub.): Reference Architecture
Model Industrie 4.0 RAMI 4.0; last updated: July 2015

[3] Industrial Internet Consortium (pub.): Industrial Internet

Four example applications on the online
Reference Architecture V1.7 roadmap

The ‘Industrie 4.0’ online roadmap, published by

[4] MIT Technology Review: Business Report – The Plattform Industrie 4.0, contains a list of roughly
200 example applications and test-beds with the
Internet of Things; July–August 2014; aim of providing small and medium-sized

www.technologyreview.com enterprises with access to new technologies.

Phoenix Contact is one of the pioneers of this
forward-looking project and contributed four
examples to the online roadmap.
[5] ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010 Systems and software
engineering — Architecture description; Retrieved: 2013-08-0; The ‘Automation for Versatile Production
Technology (AWaPro)’ innovation project was
www.iso-architecture.org among these applications. The ‘it’s OWL’ top
cluster is researching and developing the end-to-
end digital planning of the electrical system for a
machine or system that will facilitate the

Further links: customised manufacturing of products. The result

of the engineering process is a digital article. This
also forms the foundation of the ‘Smart
Engineering and Production 4.0 (SEAP)’ joint
www.phoenixcontact.com
project between Eplan, Phoenix Contact, and
www.plattform-i40.de Rittal. SEAP 4.0 demonstrates how a specific
control cabinet can be built in a cost-effective way
www.iiconsortium.org
with uniform, standardised data and data formats
and interfaces for engineering tools.

Further Industrie 4.0 concepts have already been

If you are interested in publishing this article, please contact
Becky Smith: marketing@phoenixcontact.co.uk or telephone
0845 881 2222.
deployed in the first applications. For instance, a
production control system designed by Phoenix
Contact enables the parallel production of
different versions of a product, simple
configuration of version-specific process flows,
and the support of manual steps by means of
easy-to-use wizard functions. End-to-end
recording of the manufacturing history ensures
long-term quality documentation. In toolmaking,
mixed-method, automated process sequences
help reduce idle time because tools can be
uniquely identified and localised at any time
anywhere in the world. Digitisation of all relevant
data therefore taps the potential for improving
efficiency, making it possible to manufacture
batches of one at the same cost it would take to
mass-produce the product.